One of the biggest problems frequent air travelers have, and it is reflected in numerous surveys, is the fears and concerns which airline travelers today have about their bags and packages, which are turned over to the airlines to be carried as checked baggage, is a delay or misrouting of baggage especially such that the baggage is not traveling with the traveler. In addition, today's air carriers use a hub system that many times forces a traveler and his articles to change airplanes before reaching their final destinations. Many times a passenger's articles will begin a trip together only to be separated at a transfer point, especially the airlines's hub, during the journey.
The fact that a traveler knows that there is a chance of separation from baggage and checked articles causes concern, worry, and a feeling of helplessness. If the traveler were to positively have an indication that the bags were on the flight with him, the traveler would be able to relax, have a more enjoyable flight and concentrate all of his attention on working, reading, conversing or other activities during the flight. If the traveler were to positively have an indication that the bags were not on the flight with him, the traveler would be able to take steps to remedy the problem. For example if the traveler had knowledge that his bags were in fact separated from the traveler, he would be able to plan ahead by coordinating with the airline and others about replacing necessary articles, clothing, and the like at his destination to make up for any delay or ultimate loss of the articles and baggage. In addition, if the traveler knew at what physical location the separation of his articles and luggage occurred, especially in a journey requiring multiple changes in aircraft, he would be able to pass this superior knowledge on to the air lines to assist them in locating the luggage and articles which were separated. This information would be of value not only to the traveler, but to the airlines as well in achieving an efficient recovery of the bag.
An ancillary problem is the wait and uncertainty faced by a traveler in having to debark, walk to the baggage claim and locate his luggage and articles. In some cases the luggage and articles may already have been available for others to mistakenly take as their own. In other instances, the traveler has to wait and compete for his luggage and articles around a crowded carousel. Even when the traveler arrives at the carousel before his luggage and articles arrive, he may not see his checked belongings when they first emerge or they may be mistakenly removed by someone else.
Further, a traveler who is forced to wait at a carousel to defend possession of his luggage and articles will likely have to wait a second time in order to arrange ground transportation. Because people are so protective of their luggage and articles, they will rarely leave the carousel to chance while taking the opportunity for a rental car or shuttle transaction during the time before the luggage and articles arrive.
The separation of an airline traveler from his lug. Any time that a traveler changes planes, and particularly when the passenger's arrival time is close to the next departure time, especially at a hub connection, there is a significant probability that the baggage will not make the flight on which the passenger has boarded. Also, depending upon the layout of the airport, and especially at a large hub where the physical distance between the arrival gate and the departure gate is large, a passenger making a tight connection may miss the next flight even though his baggage made it onto the plane.
Another danger which increases the worry of airline travelers is the possibility that the identity ticket on the checked baggage may become torn off inadvertently through ordinary handling. In this event, the luggage is certain to miss transfer at a hub, and even if it makes it way to a destination, the traveler may have trouble identifying it as his own, may increase the chances of being inadvertently claimed by someone else, and may also have trouble convincing gate security that the luggage and articles with the missing tag is his.
The baggage systems and airport security from air line to air line varies greatly. Some air lines use a computer to keep up with the baggage. Other air lines simply react only after a passenger is unable to locate their baggage. Where the baggage follows the passenger, the passenger can simply wait at the airport and only hope that it arrives. Where the baggage travels ahead of the passenger, there is some increased chance that it may be lost or stolen. If the passenger could call ahead, either from an aircraft phone or a personal phone, arrangements could be made to have the baggage collected as soon as it is available and held for later pickup after a positive identification of the owner.
The most overriding reason that it is valuable for the traveler to know if his baggage is accompanying the traveler is that many airports have such lax security that if the traveler is not on hand to collect the baggage when it is first made available to the passengers, there is a likelihood that it will be stolen.
Further, with the problems associated with the air line liability for lost baggage and the like, any system, no matter how rudimentary, which gives the air lines the ability to cut losses, would be welcome.
Another problem with baggage which does not travel in unison with the traveler is that of location and transfer. Baggage which travels on another flight is generally never separated from the baggage made available to the travelers of the arriving flight. As such, it becomes apparent that the baggage will maintain its unclaimed status only after a long time has passed since it was made available. This time period can be as long as an hour and a half, and where only one or a few baggage output areas are available, and during busy times, the baggage may not be identified as unclaimed for hours. As a result of any of these delays, and when the traveler makes inquiry at the destination location, the baggage, not being immediately held by the baggage claim department, is technically lost, and personnel have to be dispatched to look for it.
Other problems may compound the initial problem of baggage not traveling in unison with the traveler, including torn, damaged or removed destination tags, additional opportunity for pilferage by air line employees, and the like. Again, since most of the problems associated with lost baggage begins with a separation of the baggage from in-unison travel of the passenger, the most rudimentary help would include an early notification of the air line so that the baggage could be identified, located and segregated in order that more complete control over the baggage can be established. Secondarily, in transmitting the information to the air line baggage department, it would be important to know how many items of baggage were missing and if possible which items of baggage were missing, including a description of the physical shape and color of the baggage item.
What would be of even further help would be a device or method to aid in physical location of an item of lost baggage. As a beginning step, a system which would assist the owner of the baggage in personally locating it, perhaps in assistance with air line personnel would prove helpful. A system which is standardized and in which the air lines also shared in data base identification would even more greatly help as it would provide complete coordination between the traveler and the air line and reduce the instances of lost baggage to a minimum.